Processed starches in general do not have good flowability, and this limits their usefulness as fillers or carriers in drug formulations such as tablets and capsules.
The present invention resides in the formation of rice starches into spherical agglomerates by mixing the starches with silicon dioxide. The larger size and spherical shape of these agglomerates provide them with improved flowability that enables them to be used as a direct compression filler in tablet and capsule formulations. Tablets formed from these agglomerates exhibit good hardness, low friability, and favorable disintegration and dissolution characteristics. The agglomerates can also improve the flowability of powder-like substances which by themselves have poor flowability, by mixing the agglomerates with the powder so that the agglomerates serve as a carrier for the powder.